I toddled awkwardly forward in my tightly-laced skates, staring down at the untouched ice."Bend your knees more," Brad Gutkin '07 said. "And always remember to keep your head up."

Gutkin danced away on his skates practicing footwork, jumps and various spins. Through my untrained eyes, he could be a professional.

Feeling vastly inferior, I armed myself with some random tidbits from my few childhood skating lessons and scraped my left skate forward in an attempt to glide, then rapidly flailed my arms to catch my balance.

Out of the corner of my eye, Gutkin leapt into the air and spun quickly, then continued spiraling as he lowered to the ice and slowed to a finish.

A thud sounded from an opposite corner, where I turned to see a student who had smacked against the wall and hit the ice.

I felt a little better.

The Brandeis Ice Skating Club gathers together new skaters as well as people like Gutkin, who skated for 15 years before coming to Brandeis, to enjoy ice skating together at a reasonable price.

"The levels of experience range from absolute beginner-I mean not even set foot on a sheet of ice before-to literally Olympic-level skaters at the senior level," club President Skayna Skelley '06 said. "There are more skaters at Brandeis than you'd think."

The club meets at Rabb steps every Sunday at 9:25 p.m. to transport students to West Suburban Arena, a skating rink in Natick. The club rents private ice time for an hour, which would usually cost $200, and provides skates for students who need them.

Skelley, who has figure skated since age three, began the club in Spring, 2004 to give students a way to meet and skate together.

"I knew I could offer lessons to beginners and support to fellow upper-level skaters," Skelley said. "I was aware that the school has a great system of funding clubs and that, if there was significant interest in it, that the club might become very strong."

Each week, an ice captain, who is always a member of the club's executive board, e-mails the club to arrange carpooling and skating rentals.

Skelley said the group typically numbers around 20 skaters on Sunday nights. While some people skate weekly, others attend a few times per semester.

The Skating Club will also hold skating-related activities including public skating sessions and ice shows this winter. The club is also hosting a Brandeis "Disney on Ice" show this spring that will feature club members.